This post was inspired by Jonathan Franzen, who is really terrible at writing sex scenes.
Rule #1. Steal a bunch of stuff from writers better than you. Also known as the Oscar Wilde rule. There's a difference between plagiarism and inspiration. The former is when you take something and don't put a new spin on it. The latter is when you use elements from another author's writing and try something new with the theme or idea you've cribbed. For instance, this website was inspired by Somethingawful.com, however, I don't actually post articles from Something awful, nor are my own posts based off of their writers' compositions. This is, of course, painfully obvious stuff, but this is a painfully obvious blog.
Rule #2. Pick a project and stick to it. Switching projects is how you never get one finished. I've been writing my fantasy novel The Heart of the Thief for three years now, and I've often considered ditching it and working on something else. After an extensive rewrite, I'm almost finished, and I'm glad I stuck with it, however it turns out. If you've put a lot of time into a project, you might as well see it through. Authors are not the best judges of their own work--Stephen King tossed Carrie in the trash. Had his wife not pulled it out, we might have been deprived of Sleepwalkers which would be a real cinema sin.
Rule #3. Write for yourself first. Write about what you want to write about. If that's centaur porn, then keep at it. For a while I wanted to be a "serious" writer, you know, like Jonathan Franzen up there. So what I read was mostly literature and what I wrote had literary ambitions. I set those ambitions aside when I started writing fantasy (not that fantasy can't be literature; I've tried to make the Heart of the Thief fall into that category), and since then I've read an awful lot of sci-fi and fantasy. In fact, I've read more books this year than in any other year of my life. I'm not saying you shouldn't ponder through The Brothers Karamazov; the classics have their place. But if you want to read about dragons, spaceships, and the apocalypse, then go ahead. What you read will influence your writing. Better make it good stuff so you'll have better material to steal.
Rule #4. Try to write everyday. I try to write about a page everyday. I used to write quite a bit more; that was before I had a child. Back then, I'd drink about three beers and write for two hours. Now I don't have that kind of time, and I don't drink during the week (lame). Today I write after my boy goes to bed. I usually write for about thirty minutes to an hour. I might not get a lot written every day, but it adds up (to a lot of time wasted!).
Rule #5. Reread and Revise. Before you start writing, read what you wrote yesterday. I guarantee you'll catch a couple grammatical errors as well as some ugly sentences, and you'll be better able to integrate what you're writing today with what you've constructed in the past. When you're finished with a work, don't assume it's done just because it's grammatically sound. Plot structures need revision, as do characters. I've never been a big reviser, but working on The Heart of the Thief for so long has made me realize the failure of my other projects to be published was likely due to my not revising much (as well as the strangeness of some of my plots/subject matter. Goddamn gophers.). Polish that piece to a sheen. Unfortunately I don't have the time to do that with my blog posts. Hah.
Rule #2. Pick a project and stick to it. Switching projects is how you never get one finished. I've been writing my fantasy novel The Heart of the Thief for three years now, and I've often considered ditching it and working on something else. After an extensive rewrite, I'm almost finished, and I'm glad I stuck with it, however it turns out. If you've put a lot of time into a project, you might as well see it through. Authors are not the best judges of their own work--Stephen King tossed Carrie in the trash. Had his wife not pulled it out, we might have been deprived of Sleepwalkers which would be a real cinema sin.
Rule #3. Write for yourself first. Write about what you want to write about. If that's centaur porn, then keep at it. For a while I wanted to be a "serious" writer, you know, like Jonathan Franzen up there. So what I read was mostly literature and what I wrote had literary ambitions. I set those ambitions aside when I started writing fantasy (not that fantasy can't be literature; I've tried to make the Heart of the Thief fall into that category), and since then I've read an awful lot of sci-fi and fantasy. In fact, I've read more books this year than in any other year of my life. I'm not saying you shouldn't ponder through The Brothers Karamazov; the classics have their place. But if you want to read about dragons, spaceships, and the apocalypse, then go ahead. What you read will influence your writing. Better make it good stuff so you'll have better material to steal.
Rule #4. Try to write everyday. I try to write about a page everyday. I used to write quite a bit more; that was before I had a child. Back then, I'd drink about three beers and write for two hours. Now I don't have that kind of time, and I don't drink during the week (lame). Today I write after my boy goes to bed. I usually write for about thirty minutes to an hour. I might not get a lot written every day, but it adds up (to a lot of time wasted!).
Rule #5. Reread and Revise. Before you start writing, read what you wrote yesterday. I guarantee you'll catch a couple grammatical errors as well as some ugly sentences, and you'll be better able to integrate what you're writing today with what you've constructed in the past. When you're finished with a work, don't assume it's done just because it's grammatically sound. Plot structures need revision, as do characters. I've never been a big reviser, but working on The Heart of the Thief for so long has made me realize the failure of my other projects to be published was likely due to my not revising much (as well as the strangeness of some of my plots/subject matter. Goddamn gophers.). Polish that piece to a sheen. Unfortunately I don't have the time to do that with my blog posts. Hah.
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